Reply #31: How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill

[myrna minx]

is such a fantastic read. You are so correct with the assessment of the careful care taken my both the Muslims and the Irish in preserving ancient western culture.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0385418493/002-1058525-5936866?v=glance
Editorial Reviews
A review:

Amazon.com
In this delightful and illuminating look into a crucial but little-known "hinge" of history, Thomas Cahill takes us to the "island of saints and scholars," the Ireland of St. Patrick and the Book of Kells. Here, far from the barbarian despoliation of the continent, monks and scribes laboriously, lovingly, even playfully preserved the West's written treasury. When stability returned in Europe, these Irish scholars were instrumental in spreading learning, becoming not only the conservators of civilization, but also the shapers of the medieval mind, putting their unique stamp on Western culture.